Low high school graduation rates hurts chances for employment in recession

Graduating from high school may be nonnegotiable for some, but almost half of Washoe County School District (WCSD) high school students don’t graduate, data suggests.

Only 56 percent of WCSD high school students graduated in 2009, according to the Cohort Graduation Rate, which studies the gross number of students that enter the high school in comparison with the number of students who leave with a diploma.

“I’ve known many people throughout my four years of classes who didn’t graduate or come back,” Matt Turley, 18, said. “In fact, a lot of my friends dropped out. People get caught up in life or financial problems at home. When you have to provide for your family and take on responsibilities normal people your age don’t have to, classes don’t matter.”

This graph demonstrates WCSD high schools and the number of students who left that school with a diploma. The Cohort Graduation Rate consists of longitudinal tracking of individual students in their first year of school, including transfers in and out of the cohort, over their four years in high school, WCSD data profile displayed.

High schools in the county have different socioeconomic groups which can explain the vast differences in graduation rates. The highest percentage of students to graduate in Washoe County was Reno High School which varied from Hug High School which had the lowest in the county, 2009 WCSD data profile displayed.

“I guess I go to a school (Hug) that’s known for its gang fights, pregnancies, and parents that don’t have jobs, if there are parents at all,” Javier Lopez, 18, said. “We’re not rich and we are considered a bad community, unlike McQueen or Reno.”

Dropout students reported to leave due to failing grades, inabilities to learn, boredom, teen pregnancies and forced financial responsibilities of becoming a head of household.

“I didn’t feel like going to school today,” he said. “There’s more important things going on in my life than algebra. It’s not like I have a choice either. I have to work for my family. That’s what people don’t get. People have their statistics about life; all I have is my responsibilities to my family.”

When 500 high school dropouts between the ages of 16 through 25 were interviewed, they gave many reasons for leaving school. Two thirds said they would have tried harder if more was expected from them, Alison Kepner of the News Journal reported.

Despite efforts to improve education throughout the country like No Child Left Behind, graduation rates in Nevada have remained about the same. However, in a recession many Nevadans struggle to find work and this hurts chances for dropouts to find jobs.

Nevada’s unemployment rate climbed to a record high of 13.4 percent in March, above the national rate of 9.7 percent, William Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, said.

The state lost 4,300 jobs during the month of March alone. Reno and Sparks’ unemployment rates rose from 11.2 percent to 13.2 percent in one year, Anderson reported.

“Nevada’s economy will continue to bounce along the bottom without any real direction,” he said.

Many jobs are not offered to high school dropouts. Jobs that will hire a dropout prefer someone with a diploma. Many individuals who get their GED still don’t have a fighting chance against a diploma, Lopez said.

“People look down on others who don’t graduate the normal way or at all,” Sandi Green, 24, said. “You’re chances to get a job are slim. You’re chances to get an ok paying job is slimmer. You’re ability to provide for your family with that job, are pretty much non-existent.”

According to the U.S. Census data, a high school dropout averages a salary of $19,169 a year. A high school dropout on average will earn $9,500 less than a high school graduate and $32,400 less than a person with a bachelor’s degree.

Although many people choose to get a GED after dropping out from high school, their futures are still changing from their past choices. Several fast food workers admitted they wish they had stuck with high school because they would have had better chances of getting a professional job with a diploma instead of their GED.

In a recession with unemployment rates high and job availability low, a high school diploma is a necessary thing to strive for, Lopez said.

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According to Alison Kepner of the News Journal

dropouts are more likely to be:

When 35 teens and young adults in Reno, Nevada

were asked what the school district could do to improve

the graduation rate, they said more attention to these

areas might reduce dropout rates:

Many fast food employees in Reno, Nevada were in high school or have dropped out of high school. However, many have also received their GED.